A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

of that which they intended to protect. They did not realize that these val- ues could be preserved only as they became a dynamic ex- pression of life in relationship to a broader society. HIGHER EDUCATION Interpreting the history of Mennonite Brethren higher edu- cation is a difficult task. The high schools and Bible schools began and drew resources from clusters of local churches. Higher education, however, addresses the needs of a broader constituency. In 1992 a relatively small conference of 17,000 members in the United States and 25,000 in Canada owned four colleges: Tabor College (Hillsboro, Kansas); Fresno Pacif- ic College (California); Concord College (Winnipeg, Manito- ba), formerly Mennonite Brethren Bible College; and Colum- bia Bible College (Clearbrook, British Columbia); plus the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno. The sheer scope of such a program of higher education for a small con- ference contains its own paradoxes. Tabor College, founded in 1908, was the first Mennonite 171 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH Brethren institution of higher learning. Its founding goals were similar to those of the Bible schools and high schools. Henry W. Lohrenz called for a school "in which our youth may study and where it will not be alienated from our churches,"15 In 1912 Elder Abraham Schellenberg added: "If we want our youth to be brought up in the traditions of the churches we must have our own schools."16 Two decades lat- er, the articulated purpose of the college was to protect the spiritual unity of the conference in order to strengthen the ob- jectives of its heritage.17 In the mid~1940s H.W, Lohrenz of- fered a more complete description in a pamphlet entitled Ear- ly Aims of Tabor College. Tabor College was founded to provide trained leadership for the churches that would support the school , . . Those who were entrusted with the administration of the school never thought of it merely as an institution for secular training. The preparation of young men and women for spiritual leadership was always uppermost in their minds. It is not enough to have trained leaders. The question is, what direction do they lead the people. Whither are we as a church and denomination going? Is there unity of aim? The greater the variety of schools to which our young peo- ple go, the greater will be the difference in our churches. If we do not achieve unity of spirit in our leadership, how can we have unity in our churches?1* The importance of Tabor College for the Mennonite Brethren Church has never been doubted. It provided leader- ship,